Performer: Sergey Rachmaninov
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8112058
Release: 2011
Size: 172 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Bach: Partita No. 4 in D major, BWV828
01. V. Sarabande
Handel: Keyboard Suite No. 5 (Set I) in E Major, HWV 430
02. IV. Air with Variations, “Harmonious Blacksmith”
Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice
03. Melodie (Arr. G. Sgambati for piano)
Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K331 ‘Alla Turca’
04. III. Alla turca: Allegretto
Beethoven: Variations on an Original Theme in C minor, WoO 80
05. Thema: Allegretto
06. Variation 1
07. Variation 2
08. Variation 3
09. Variation 4
10. Variation 5
11. Variation 6
12. Variation 7
13. Variation 8
14. Variation 9
15. Variation 10
16. Variation 11
17. Variation 12
18. Variation 13
19. Variation 14
20. Variation 19
21. Variation 22
22. Variation 23
23. Variation 24
24. Variation 25
25. Variation 26
26. Variation 27
27. Variation 28
28. Variation 31
29. Variation 32
Beethoven: The Ruins of Athens Overture, Op. 113
30. Turkish March [arr. Anton Rubinstein for piano]
Schubert: 4 Impromptus, D899 (Op. 90)
31. No. 4 in A-Flat Major
Liszt: Schwanengesang – Vierzehn Lieder Von Franz Schubert, S560
32. No. 7, Standchen, “Leise flehen meine Lieder” (After F. Schubert)
Liszt: Müllerlieder Von Franz Schubert, S565
33. No. 1, Das Wandern
Liszt: Two Concert Studies, S145 / R6
34. No. 2, Gnomenreigen (Dance of the Gnomes)
Liszt: Deux Polonaises, S223 / R44
35. No. 2, Polonaise in E Major
Mendelssohn: 3 Etudes, Op. 104b
36. No. 2 in F Major
37. No. 3 in A Minor
Mendelssohn: Songs without Words, Book 6, Op. 67
38. No. 4 in C Major, “Spinnerlied”
39. Borodin: Scherzo in A flat
Tchaikovsky: The Seasons, Op. 37
40. XI. November: Troika
Scriabin: Preludes, Op. 11
41. No. 8 in F-Sharp Minor
Paderewski: Humoresques de concert, Op. 14, Book 1: À l’antique
42. No. 1, Menuet celebre
43. Strauss: Valse Caprice No. 2, Op. 167, “Man lebt nur einmal” (Arr. C. Tausig for piano)
Rachmaninov’s reputation as a composer has waxed and waned over the years, but as a pianist he remains renowned, not least among other pianists, as one of the greatest. His perfect technique, utter clarity and discipline, and supreme musicianship shine undiminished through even his earliest recordings.
Ever the perfectionist, he would often set down multiple takes of even the shortest pieces (no fewer than 22 of Mendelssohn’s Spinning Song, for instance), carefully choosing only the best for release. His account of a selection of Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor WoO 80 effortlessly negotiates every nuance, from utmost delicacy to thunderous virtuosity, while his affinity for the Romantics is self-evident.